Winter days are quickly forgotten as springtime arrives and children celebrate the Risen Christ with exuberance! Greeting cards are filled with butterflies, flowers, and other images of new life.

I met with a lively group of First Grade children today and asked them if they knew what "big day" was coming up soon. "The Easter Egg Hunt!" was the first response. "Easter Sunday!" was the next. The expressions on their little faces radiated joyful anticipation and hope.

This Easter season, help your students share their hope and joy with others by living as Easter people. Reaching out to those who may have difficulty experiencing hope in their lives and showing we care is how we live in love and serve others as Jesus showed us.

Talk about the challenges many people face every day and how we can offer hope by treating them with love and care.

Plant seedlings in small pots decorated with colorful Easter symbols and deliver them to seniors at a local assisted living facility.

Turn white lunch bags into Easter bunnies by adding ears, googly eyes and a fluffy pom-pom. Children can fill them with colorful grass and a few treats and share them with children at a local shelter, children’s hospital, or nursing home.

Contact the pastoral minister at your parish and get the names of people on the sick list or those unable to leave their homes. Encourage your students to send an Easter greeting with a cheery note.

Pray together:

God Our Father,
Easter is a time for hope and new beginnings.
Help us to show our love those who struggle to get through each day.
May we live as Easter people, in hope and joy.
We ask this through your Holy Spirit, who lives in our hearts.
Amen

Guest blogger Brenda McLennan coordinates a family centered program for the Catholic Community of St. Odilia in Shoreview, MN, using Our Sunday Visitor’s Alive in Christ curriculum. She has developed and facilitated programs for children of all ages and is passionate about empowering parents to form their children in the Catholic Faith by using digital tools to provide them with the resources they need. She has a Master’s in Religious Education from the University of St. Thomas and has served as a consultant and speaker over the course of her career in ministry.

Related articles

Enjoy this article? With a paid PRINT subscription you will help us continue to bring reliable news, information, and Church teaching to Catholics nationwide. Won’t you join us on our mission? Subscribe today.